


Scarf Boyfriends

by poppicock



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Comedy, M/M, Romance, Single dads dating, lol just kidding, perhaps you'd call this a romantic comedy, the romantic comedy nobody asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-04 12:03:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11554824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poppicock/pseuds/poppicock
Summary: Gabriel thinks Mostafa Kubdel is Hawkmoth. Mostafa thinks Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.They're dating.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anthemyst](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anthemyst/gifts).



“Sir,” Nathalie’s voice cut through Gabriel’s current train of thought. “Your presence is required at Adrien’s school.”

He looked up at his assistant, and set down his sketching pencils. “If its something academic, you can handle it.”

She shook her head. “It's disciplinary, sir, which doesn't fall under my department.”

Gabriel frowned. “Is this a joke? It’s _Adrien._ ”

Nathalie shook her head. “The driver is waiting. I’ve already moved your schedule for the afternoon.”

He stood. “In that case, let Principal Damocles know that I’m on my way,” Gabriel told her.

Funny enough, Gabriel was not the last parent to arrive to the meeting between himself, Adrien, some pink-haired girl, and Principal Damocles.

“Father, I can explain-”

He had held up a hand to his protesting son. “Let’s wait for your friend’s parent to arrive. There’s no point in repeating your story and wasting everyone’s time twice.”

The boy’s face fell. The girl next to him looked vaguely familiar, though Gabriel did not know why. He made a point to avoid Adrien’s friends. She looked far too energetic and frankly, bruised up and dirty, to run in his son’s usual social circles.

Still, they all waited in the small conference room.

When Mostafa Kubdel arrived, Gabriel’s first thought was _Hawkmoth._

 

XXX

 

Mostafa’s phone was buzzing. His audience of college students and professors kept shifting, looking at his phone, on the edge of the table of artifacts, as he continued speaking, unwavered.

This is what happens when you sign up to do a lecture series. Life gets in the way. He suspected it was his daughter.

“Oh my, I’m terribly sorry,” he told the room with exuberance. “Let me just turn-”

_3 missed calls from FRANCOIS DUPONT._

_2 texts from ALIX:_

_“I didn’t do it.”_ _  
_ _“Okay i DID do it but please hear me out when you get here.”_

Mostafa grinned, trying to play off the concerned face he made. “Just a meme from my kid.”

The twenty-somethings did not laugh. He went on with his lecture.

After finishing his lecture as quickly as he could, he drove over to the school. Another day, another detention for his daughter, as they said. At this point, he would have to start sending Principal Damocles religious-denominational holiday cards. Damocles was probably a Catholic anyway.

He entered the conference room and saw Gabriel Agreste, and his couldn’t help but frown. After all, it was not everyday that he stood in the same room as Hawkmoth.

 

XXX

 

“So why are we here today, Principal Damocles?” Gabriel asked, in a careful voice.

“I can explain!” Adrien volunteered.

The owlish man seemed to like Adrien, which was a good sign. “Alright.”

“There were these older kids,” Adrien started. “And they started saying these awful things to Alix about the whole Timebreaker thing-”

“I broke their noses.” ‘Alix’ cut in with a bored sigh. “That’s why we’re here. I broke their noses. I’m _very_ sorry, and I can bet it won’t happen again because that moron know better.”

“Alix,” Mostafa cut in. “That’s no way to react. You can’t let violence solve your problems.”

 _That’s rich, coming from a supervillain,_ Gabriel thought, before turning to his son. “And how do you, Adrien, fit in into all of this?”

The boy shifted. “Well he, the older boy, had to be three times Alix’s size and I had to step in and pull them apart!”

He stared at his son, who didn’t appear to have a speck of dirt on him. There were no bruises to speak of, no bloody noses or black eyes. It was a contrast from this Alix Kubdel, who looked rather scraped up. “I see,” Gabriel ended up saying. “I can’t say I’m pleased with the friends you’re keeping, if you’re getting into pointless school fights.”

“It wasn’t pointless.” Alix snapped at him. “You have no idea what it’s like to be called a _murderer.”_

Gabriel turned to the girl, and considered her for a moment. The room seemed to grow cold. There was a deathlike silence. Alix glared back at him, not wavering as she crossed her arms and pushed her eyebrows together.

“Father…” Adrien said, softly.

Breathing out, he reminded himself that he had better things to do than rip the girl’s head off.

He turned to Damocles, who was startled at the man’s gaze. “A week’s suspension seems fair.”

“I agree.” The principal replied in a huff. “I’m so sorry, for pulling you both away from your busy schedules.”

“It’s quite alright,” Mostafa replied in a gentle voice. “I’m glad to see this issue resolved.”

When the four of them were exiting the building, Mostafa spoke to his daughter. “You should apologize to Mr. Agreste, Alix.” He sounded more firm than before, at least.

“It’s not necessary,” Gabriel told Mostafa. “If I cared about your daughter’s opinion of me, I would be more insistent. However,” he looked at Alix with a smirk, and told her directly, “I don’t care what you think of me.”

Alix laughed at that, a gap-toothed smile spread across her face. “I _am_ sorry, though.”

“It’s perfectly fine, miss.” He replied quietly, if not awkwardly. “I was quite upset when I was accused of murder, as well.”

When their driver pulled up the car, Mostafa tapped Gabriel’s shoulder, and handed him a business card. “We should get dinner sometime,” he told him.

Gabriel took the card, and raised his eyebrows. In his peripherals, the children watched them with wide-eyed expressions. “Why would we do that?” He asked, hoping that was enough to discourage Mostafa Kubdel.

“To catch up, of course.” He said with a warm smile as he adjusted his scarf.

He felt his cheeks warm slightly, felt the beginning pools of attraction fill within him. Which was a bad idea, because Mostafa was Hawkmoth.

Wait. Well, there was an idea. Gabriel knew he could be charming, but charming enough to charm away a miraculous? That was promising.

Gabriel let the corners of his mouth perk up into a cool smile. “I’d like that, Mostafa.”

 

XXX

 

Mostafa glanced down at his daughter. “Why are you staring?”

“You...you just asked out a _billionaire._ ” Alix told him, as they walked to his car. “Do you even know him?”

“I’ve met him before,” he said. “It’s irrelevant. Let’s go home.”

His current plan was getting the butterfly miraculous away from Gabriel Agreste.

 

XXX

 

One week later, Mostafa arrived at the Agreste mansion, feeling a chill run down his spine at the thought of four walls closing in around him as he walked towards the front door.

Gabriel stepped out, closing the door behind him. He looked almost casual, if his sweater wasn’t worth more than Mostafa’s mortgage.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a not-suit before,” he managed to say.

“You said it was casual,” Gabriel replied, looking down at the cream colored thing he was wearing. “It’s not really my thing.”

“Going casual?”

Gabriel shook his head. “Sweaters. Adrien suggested it. I think he’s more excited about this date than I am, to be frank.”

Mostafa held open the car door for him. “You look charming,” he assured him, closing the door and walking around the front of the car.

He drove only for a few minutes, in silence, before he parked on a side street and they both stepped out.

“Have you been to this part of Paris, Gabriel?” He asked him carefully, taking note of his date’s confused expression.

“Well, Mostafa, yes. Not in years, though.” He replied, as they slipped into a small, Mediterranean restaurant. “Ari took me here, once.”

“I think _I_ took her to this restaurant first, as friends.” He replied, sitting down at a table in the corner.

Gabriel sat across from him, and frowned. “I’m sorry that I fell out of touch,” he admitted. “Things were difficult and it was too overwhelming to keep up relationships with all of _her_ friends, and that included you.”

“Ariana and I weren’t that close,” he replied. “And it was a hard time for everyone.”

The waitress quickly took their orders, and Mostafa took a sip of water. “It is still hard?”

“I don’t know,” Gabriel answered. “I don’t know what easy feels like. What about you?”

He shook his head. “I miss her, I suppose, but I miss companionship more. I miss being with someone. Obviously I wish I could be with her-”

“ _-Obviously-_ ”

Mostofa smiled. “But I figured,” he went on, “why not try to put myself out there?”

The waitress brought them the wine he had ordered, and Gabriel toasted to that before taking a sip and smiling.

 

XXX

 

Gabriel had to admit that he was enjoying himself with Mostafa. It was late when they finally left the restaurant, and then he looked at him, and there was a devilish glint in his eyes.

“Was that all you had planned?” He asked with a grin he couldn’t help.

Mostafa adjusted his glasses, and looked at him. Gabriel had to stop and remind himself that he was ultimately after the butterfly miraculous, if just to get it out of his date’s hands.

“No.”

Then, they were standing in front of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Gabriel took in a deep breath. “It’s different,” he said, “without all the people and cameras around it constantly.”

“It’s like you can form an opinion on it,” Mostafa said quietly. “You can look at it and ignore it’s history and just decide whether or not you like it. There’s no pressure.”

Gabriel let out a breath. “You say that to everyone.”

He felt a hand brush his, and he looked over to Mostafa. “I don’t really take anyone here, actually. I thought a billionaire would want to see something different. Frankly, I don’t think even _you_ could manage getting into the Louvre after hours.”

His hand took Mostafa’s and squeezed it gently. “Don’t challenge me, Mostafa.”

He snorted at that. “Don’t tell me you’ll succumb to a childish dare.”

“I would. What can I say? I’m petty. I like to win.”

Something curious crossed his date’s face. As though Mostafa was trying to understand him more. Gabriel pulled closer to him, his hands moving up his forearms.

“I have to admit that this is a surprise,” Mostafa managed to say. “I didn’t think you’d be so…” His words were lost as Gabriel’s hands moved to his lapels, feeling the fabric between his fingers.

“Into you?”

“More or less.”

Gabriel grinned at that, figured this would be a lot easier than he originally expected, and pulled Mostafa into a kiss.

It was hard for Gabriel to admit, but he really _was_ enjoying himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Alix strode into Nathalie’s office, her backpack hanging off her shoulder as she stared at the woman. 

“Yo, Nat.” 

Nathalie glared at the girl, because she wasn’t required to be nice to her yet. Mostafa and Gabriel had been dating for a little while, but the Alix hadn’t come up. 

“Can I help you, Ms. Kubdel?” 

“Is Gabe in?” She blinked, tugging at strands of hair that she had attempted to brush. Her dad’s boyfriend had suggested on multiple occasions that she should cut it all off. 

“Yes.” 

“...Is he free?” 

“I can check.” Nathalie pretended look at her desktop monitor. She picked up the phone on her desk and pressed his extension. “I have a Ms. Kubdel for you,” her voice did not quite cover her annoyance. She hung up. “You can go in.” 

Alix opened the door, stepping inside and as spotting Gabriel at his desk. 

_ All he does is draw and boss around his employees.  _

She sat down at the chair across from his desk, and started rifling through her bag, pulling out an old notebook. 

Gabriel set down his sketching pencils, and look at her for a moment. “A ‘hello’ would be appropriate.” 

That made her roll her eyes. “Hey, Gabe. How are you?”

“We have discussed this,” he said in a voice that was far too patient for him. Alix had once heard Gabriel Agreste yell at one of his designers over misapplied buttons. “It's ‘Gabriel’ or ‘Mr. Agreste’ to you. Pick one.”

Alix smiled. “I'm going to call you Gabe. Or Uncle Gabe. Pick one,” she added in a mocking tone. 

He made a disgusted face at that. “Gabe will do,” he said hastily. “What can I do for you, Alix?”

“So, I got in trouble at school.” 

Gabriel pursed his lips. “I can’t say I’m surprised. What was it this time?” 

“I allegedly flipped the bird to my gym teacher.” 

“ _ Allegedly _ .” He repeated. “Come on, Alix.” 

Alix glared at him, “I learned it from you!” 

She sucked in a breath. “I have to do this report on a family member I admire, who  _ isn’t  _ a parent.” 

He looked shocked for a moment, “I don’t-ah, that’s not-” Gabriel cleared his throat. “I’m not a family member of yours, I’m afraid.” 

“I don’t have any family in Paris to directly interview.” 

“Jalil.”

Staring at him, she shook her head, “A  _ real  _ adult.” 

Gabriel glared at her. “Your teacher will know that you’re talking about me, Alix. And then you’ll get in trouble for cheating.” 

Alix pouted, “I’ll  _ lie _ .” 

His face seemed to be fighting between a smile and a frown, which was common when he spoke to her. “You know, if you keep this up, it’ll be  _ very  _ easy to convince your father to send you to boarding school.” 

She snorted. “As if. Face the facts, Gabe. My dad will  _ always  _ pick me over you. And you didn’t send Adrien away.” 

“Fair enough,” he replied. “My stepmother always threatened boarding school.” Gabriel leaned back. “I shouldn’t have expected you to be terrified by that.” 

 

XXX

 

Adrien stepped into his father’s home office, and found him at his desk, with about two-dozen watches, still in boxes. He stood reviewing them, as though he were a general, overlooking the map of a battlefield. 

“Father?” 

Gabriel looked up at the boy, annoyed. “Yes, Adrien?”

“There’s dinner.” 

He waved his son off. “I’ll be there in a moment.” 

Adrien creeped closer to the desk. “What are you doing?” 

The man rolled his eyes, but ushered Adrien. He stood, looking down at the designer watches. “I’m picking out a birthday present for Mostafa, his birthday is in a few weeks.”

He raised his eyebrows, looking up at his father, who looked quite torn between his choices. Adrien swallowed. “I didn’t realize you’d get him anything.” He told him, slightly awestruck that his father was personally selecting a gift for someone he cared about. Not Adrien, of course, but it was a step in the right direction. 

His father smirked, a devilish smile that almost chilled his son to the bone. “Moose isn’t expecting anything either.” 

_ Moose?  _

Gabriel looked back down at the watches, considering them. He was normally so decisive, but in this moment he seemed lost. 

“Any one of them would be perfect, Father,” he suggested quietly. 

“If that were the case, I would present him with  _ all  _ of these watches,” Gabriel replied. “Sadly, it isn’t.  I cannot seem to narrow down to one.”

Adrien smiled, he couldn’t help it. “You must  _ really  _ like him.” 

He sighed, and picked up one of the watches, and examined the face. “It isn’t relevant. I am certain that he and I will not last.” 

“Father! Don’t say that!” 

Gabriel shook his head, and looked rather disappointed. “He is Hawkmoth.” 

Now,  Adrien, who was a superhero in his spare time, felt like his brain was spinning. “Ah, Father, I don’t think that’s-” 

It wasn’t true. It  _ couldn’t  _ be true. 

“I am sure, Adrien. I’m working on it, however.” Gabriel placed his hands behind his back. “It is important to remain unattached to Mr. Kubdel. And you are forbidden from speaking of this to anyone.” 

Adrien sucked in a breath, and placed a gentle hand on his father’s arm. “Are you sure? It’s okay to like him, Father. You don’t have to sabotage a good thing.” 

Gabriel shrugged him away. “You should eat dinner. I’ll be there soon.” 

He looked down at at the watches, frowning as he headed towards the door. “Okay, but Mostafa would prefer an antique.”

 

XXX

 

“Do you you think it’s possible that Gabriel is Hawkmoth?” Mostafa asked his daughter in a careful voice, after she spent the whole afternoon animatedly recounting her ‘interview’. 

“Yeah, totally. He has a secret lair in his office, behind the portrait.” 

 

XXX

 

Adrien was searching for Alix Kubdel, mainly because she skipped the one class they shared. So naturally, he skipped the next class, and instead went to the skate park, a few minute’s walk from the school. 

His father would kill him, if the punks at the park didn’t. 

He found her at the top of pipeline, looking up at her with the frown of a boy who was forced to skip class to talk to the girl. 

“You look like Gabe.” Alix murmured as they walked off. “What’s up?” 

Adrien swallowed. In another situation, he would transform as Chat Noir and stalk Mostafa Kubdel until the evidence was conclusive. He prayed that whoever the  _ real  _ Hawkmoth was, he didn’t know them personally.

“My father thinks your dad is Hawkmoth,” Adrien told her. “I don’t know-I just wanted-I mean-” 

He stopped himself, frustrated. 

“Is your dad Hawkmoth?” He looked up at her. “Because my dad is either deliberately screwing up his life or your dad is Hawkmoth.” 

Alix frowned. “Dude. My dad thinks your dad is Hawkmoth.” 

Adrien’s jaw could not be picked up off of the floor. “We need to tell them.”

“No. They’ll figure it out,” She replied in a tone that betrayed just how amused she was. 

 

XXX

 

Somewhere across the city several hours later, Hawkmoth, well,  _ not  _ Hawkmoth. De-transformed Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth-out-of-costume. 

That’s a mouthful. Anyway. 

Nathalie Sancoeur sank into the bed, curling around her sleeping girlfriend. 

“I wish you weren’t a villain, you know,” Penny pointed out, murmuring in her half sleep as she woke up.

She hummed, and kissed her girlfriend’s shoulder. “I know. I love you. Thank you for being patient.” 

“I love you too.” 

 

XXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the nice comments from last chapter! It really encouraged me to get this one out, and I hope you enjoy! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel scanned the world suddenly built around Mostafa and him. Walls higher than the eye could see stretched before them. They seemed to be around a perimeter of some sort. 

Dreamweaver had hit them both simultaneously. Gabriel couldn’t accept Mostafa getting hit, and Mostafa seemed to have the same thought. They ended up crashing into each other as they were struck.

“Where are we?” 

Mostafa blinked up at the walls. “Well, walls? It’s obviously your mind, Gabe.” 

He scoffed at that. “We’ll find a way in, certainly.” 

“I don’t know about that,” his boyfriend teased. “Maybe we should hang tight, until Ladybug and Chat Noir purify the akuma?” 

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, and then leaned against the wall. “We’ve been together six months, right?” 

Moose counted on his hands, and then beamed. “Yes!” He noticed Gabe’s frown. “What?” 

“I don’t want to keep secrets, Mostafa.” He admitted. 

“Okay. That’s fair.” 

Gabriel stared at him harder. “Do you have something you want to say to me?” 

“No, do you?” 

He sighed. “I know you’re Hawkmoth, Moose.” 

Then, Mostafa hugged him, catching the man off guard as he shuddered into his shoulder, laughing hysterically. He turned away from him, leaning against the wall to look at Gabriel with his striking, violet eyes. “I thought  _ you  _ were Hawkmoth!” 

“What? Are you kidding?” That, too, made Gabriel laugh. “You have the brooch, it was  _ missing  _ after Ariana disappeared.” 

“I thought  _ you  _ had it.” 

Gabriel froze. “I didn’t realize you knew I knew about it.” 

Moose sobered at that, nodding gravely. “We’re going to have to prove to each other that we’re not Hawkmoth, aren’t we?” 

He nodded, “Yeah.” 

His boyfriend popped off the wall, and tore away at the scarf wrapped around his neck, and handed it back to his partner. “Your turn.” 

“Excuse me?” Gabriel held the soft, purple thing in his hands. 

“If either of us had the miraculous, during an akuma attack, it would be on our person. As in, somewhere in our clothes that we could easily reach.” Kubdel raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend. “I’m waiting, Gabriel.” 

He exhaled. “And if I refuse to strip?” 

“I’ll assume you’re Hawkmoth, and we’ll have to have a serious talk about what this relationship means to the both of us. I imagine there will be a dramatic ‘me or the miraculous’ ultimatum.” Mostafa replied calmly. “Your scarf, Gabe.” 

Rolling his eyes, he untucked his own scarf, technically a cravat, and handed it to Moose. “See? No brooch under here.” 

Mostafa, however, had not replied. He was staring at Gabriel like a deer caught in the headlights. 

“What now?” 

He looked away, his cheeks burning. “You never undress in front of me unless we’re having sex. I didn’t expect to be conditioned to be turned on by the act of  _ you _ just taking off your scarf.” 

Gabriel quirked his eyebrows, and then smirked. “I see.” 

He sauntered to Mostafa, and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “You’re blazer has to go now, doesn’t it?” He asked as he passed behind him, dropping the scarf into his very capable hands. 

“You’re the devil.” 

He hummed taking Mostafa’s jacket and turning it over, inspecting every pocket, and feeling the lining for discrepancies before nodding, setting it down in the grass and removing his suit jacket. 

This devolved for several more rounds of clothing until mostafa pressed a hand into Gabriel’s bare chest, gently pushing him against the brick wall. “I propose an intermission,” he murmured, before tilting his head down to suck at his partner’s exposed neck. 

Gabriel happily agreed, massaging fingers into Mostafa’s shoulder blades, pressing kisses into his temple, panting as Mostafa went on. 

 

XXX

 

They did not end up concluding that intermission. Thankfully, however, Gabriel and Mostafa reappeared on the city sidewalk, fully clothed (thank god). 

“MR. AGRESTE!” Chat immediately flocked to Gabriel, who looked down at the boy with a polite, but ever-so-slightly stern expression. 

He could  _ not  _ just walk up to his father, dressed up as a superhero, as though he knew him personally. 

“Mr. Chat Noir,” Gabriel greeted him politely. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew his hand was reaching towards Moose’s. He only registered his hand in his partner’s. “What can I do for you?” 

His voice was ever slightly affected, not only by his son standing in front of him but by the sheer heat of his suit. Why was he wearing so many layers? Gabriel felt as though he was dying. All he wanted to do was crawl into a cool bed with his boyfriend and waste away the afternoon. 

Speaking of boyfriends. 

Moose elbowed him gently. “Chat asked you a question, Gabe.” 

Gabriel shook his head, and looked down at his concerned son. “I’m sorry. What were you saying? I was distracted.” 

Chat Noir’s eyes widened.  _ Stunned.  _

“He asked you if you were alright, Gabriel.” 

The man chuckled, attempting to appease the boy. “Oh, yes, I’m  _ fine.  _ Just a tad overheated. Mr. Kubdel can escort me home. Thank you for your concern young man.” 

Then, he pulled Mostafa along with him as he walked away. He counted his lucky stars that they were only a few streets away from the mansion. 

“What are you doing, Gabriel? That was rude!” Moose told him, catching up to his stride. 

Gabriel glanced over to his boyfriend, and then slowly removed his scarf, unbuttoning a button or two on his shirt as well, for good measure. He had not cooled down.

Mostafa looked away, flustered, but continued following his boyfriend back to the mansion.

 

XXX

 

He ran a hand over Gabriel’s chest. “See? There’s no way either of us are Hawkmoth.” 

“I suppose so,” Gabriel replied, wrapping an arm around Moose and pulling him closer. “Though I will say, the idea of dating a supervillain was very appealing.” 

“Mhmm, sorry. I’m just a humble museum art curator.” Mostafa settled into Gabriel’s chest, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion and bliss. 

Gabriel chuckled, and kissed his forehead. “You are so much more to me than just that, and you know it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway hi, yes, I'm back from the dead with this fic. 
> 
> the truth is i wrote chapters 3 and 4 for this fic but it was WAYYYYY too angsty for what i had set up, so i sat back and waited. I'm really happy with this one. I think there might be 1 or 2 chapters left??

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: [ here](gabriel-fucking-agreste.tumblr.com)


End file.
